Minnesota Town To Give Issue For Sinclair Lewis Proper Birthday

Sendoff

March 10, 1985|By Les Winick.

The residents of Sauk Centre, Minn., held a birthday party Feb. 7 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of its most famous citizen, author Sinclair Lewis. The United States Postal Service (USPS) was scheduled to issue a postcard stamp at the new 14-cent rate that day but was forced to postpone the first day until March 21 because of the need for 22-cent stamps to meet the new domestic rate.

The first ceremony will be held in the auditorium of the Sinclair Lewis High School at 11 a.m. March 21. If you cannot make it to Sauk Centre for the first day of issue, collectors may purchase the 14-cent stamp at their local post office March 22 and affix it to a self-addressed postcard. (If the stamp is placed on an envelope, an additional 8 cents in stamps must be added to make up the 22-cent rate.) This should be sent to Sinclair Lewis Stamp, Postmaster, Sauk Centre, Minn. 56378.

If the collector wants the Postal Service to affix the 14-cent stamp to a submitted postcard, send the self-addressed card with payment for the amount of postage required to the postmaster in Sauk Centre. There is no charge for this service. All requests must be submitted no later than April 20.

-- A Milwaukee man, former vice president of a local bank, has been indicted on six counts relating to the alleged illegal sale of previously used stamps intended for reuse as postage.

He supposedly had permission from the Milwaukee bank to keep all the incoming envelopes. Although there is evidence that cancels had been removed from some of the stamps, the assistant United States attorney stated that this is not the basis of the indictment for mail fraud.

Linn`s Stamp News newspaper reports that the defendant soaked off stamps from envelopes and sold them for reuse.

-- Postage stamps purchased by collectors and not used for postage provided the Postal Service with a net revenue of almost $170 million in fiscal 1983, it is estimated.

-- John Dickens recently was sentenced to prison in England for 27 months after pleading guilty to two charges of stamp theft. According to Philatelic Exporter magazine, Dickens` attorney stated that Dickens had a fatal fascination for stamps but did not have the cash to buy them. Apparently the judge was not moved by the story.

-- Sweden has made a major move to get a foothold in the U.S. stamp market. They have just appointed a stamp agency where collectors can acquire the beautifully engraved stamps of Sweden Stamp Agency, 1 Unicover Center, Cheyenne, Wyo. 82008. Previously issued Sweden mint year sets also are on hand.

-- A good stamp to acquire may be a used copy of the $9.35 Express Mail stamp. The stamp was issued on Aug. 12, 1983, and will become obsolete when the new rate increases to $10.75.

Many firms who use the Express Mail service find it more practical to use their postage meters, and used copies of this high-volume stamp are hard to find. Several dealers have offered as much as $3 for a used copy of this stamp.